It's Been Awhile
by aznpersuazn16
Summary: About five years post-graduation from McKinley high, Rachel Berry agrees to meet up with ex-teacher William Schuester. The fact that she's matured and he's now single shakes things up a little.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Obviously Glee doesn't belong to me. Also, I'm a little rusty as I haven't written proper fanfics for a few years now, but any comments-- constructive, preferably-- would be great! :) Have an enjoyable read. There is definitely more to come, this is just the beginning...if it's well received, that is.

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**Long Time, No See.**

_Knock knock knock._

A brunette woman looked up from her chopping board and wiped the side of her right eye to prevent the tears from smudging her makeup. Onions do that to you.

"Coming!" She said loudly before putting down the knife and wiping her hands on a nearby dishtowel.

Meanwhile, the man who stood outside with a bottle of wine wiped the bottom of his shoes on the doormat. He ran his left hand through his curly hair, hoping that he had gotten the right number. His internet was acting up on him; he was never really good at keeping up with those electricity bills since…well.

"Mr. Schuester!" The woman with brown waves that cascaded down her back smiled hugely. She quickly ushered the man inside.

"Hi, Rachel…call me Will, please." Will smiled back before hugging her and handing over the bottle.

"Ooh…what's this? Merlot?" She inspected the bottle with great interest before gesturing him into her small kitchen. The smell of Italian food hit Will like a tsunami wave. "Rachel…what in heaven's name are you making? Really, you shouldn't have…" The man walked around to take a look at the pan sitting on the stove.

"Nuh uh! You don't get to see what I'm making. Make yourself at home; I'll pour a glass for you."

Rachel walked to the cupboard near the fridge to retrieve the nice wine glasses while Will appraised her with his eyes. She really was the starlet everyone knew she was going to be back in Glee club. He sighed contentedly before sitting at the bar just beyond the sink.

"Tell me what you've been up to, Rach. It's definitely been awhile." Her former teacher asked as he inspected her nicely renovated apartment. The rest of the building was pretty shabby, but her apartment space was probably the biggest and the nicest one in there. He was initially pretty scared about stepping foot in the neighborhood she lived in.

His question definitely got her talking; that part of the old Rachel Berry hadn't gone anywhere since she landed smack dab into Broadway fame.

"It's definitely been _some_thing, Mr. Schu—I mean, Will. I'm sorry, old habits die hard you know?" She grinned at him before continuing, "But yes…Broadway. Of course, I had just got off of Fame, which I starred in for a good couple years before deciding I wanted to do something else--"

"You didn't want a break?" Will asked, cutting in before taking a sip of the wine Rachel had placed before him while she was talking.

"Oh, I thought about that. I feel like it would have been worth taking a break if…well, you know, if I had someone to spend it with. I don't know if you heard, but father passed away a year ago, and my dad didn't take it too well. He's kind of in a rehabilitation center."

"Oh, Rachel…I'm sorry, I had no clue." Will said somberly. She turned around to get the olive oil when their eyes met. She knew he felt sorry.

"Wh…what about you?" She said quickly, picking up the awkward silence. Will sat back in his chair and waited for her to let the butter sizzle in the pan with the olive oil.

"Well, since your year left, Glee has been just as successful as cheerleading. Ken Tanaka has ceased to coach the football team, so we now have a pretty good football team now. McKinley's also inducted a new principal, so we have a few new rules. Anyway…that's what I've been hearing."

He eyed her scooping out pasta onto plates. Underneath foil wrappings was chicken parmesan.

"I guess Broadway hasn't stopped your brilliant cooking," Will joked lightly.

"Of course not. I need to be eating healthy, with the small amount of sleep I had gotten while working on Broadway," she said importantly. When she placed the plates on the table, she went back to retrieve two glasses of water, "But Mr. Sc--, Will, you said that's what you've been hearing. Are you still working as a teacher at McKinley?"

"Not exactly."

"So what are you doing for a living now?"

Will went on to explain how Sue Sylvester had wormed her way back into the high school's system, and practically threw their old principal, Figgins, in jail for something he shouldn't have been accused of.

"Besides, after Terri and I split, things didn't feel right in Ohio anymore. I hadn't ventured out of that state ever…I literally graduated from that high school and the state college, Rach. The Glee kids that filtered through were never quite the same as you guys, too.

"I'm actually head of Lamberts' Preparatory School of the Arts drama department now."

Rachel put her fork down and dabbed her mouth with a napkin before asking, "Where is this school?"

"It's actually just in upstate New York…"

"That would be why I haven't heard of it, then." Rachel chuckled before sipping out of her wine glass.

"The food's amazing, Rachel. I'm not sure if Little Italy is even this good."

"Thanks." Rachel beamed at him. Another awkward silence as they continued to swallow their food.

"I'm really glad we're having this dinner, it's been a long while since I've caught up with someone after graduation."

Will glanced up at Rachel, and gave her a small smile before swallowing the chewed chicken parmesan. "Actually…I saw you perform."

"When? Which night?" Rachel automatically became defensive, obviously afraid he had seen her on a not-so-good night. Her wide brown eyes almost made him laugh.

"It was back in March, I think. Sometime before you closed."

"Hm…" Rachel mused aloud, trying to remember how she felt before the musical closed. "You did fine," Will reassured her, "…as far as I can remember, anyway."

"Hey." She said before laughing, pretending to be thoroughly upset by his teasing.

"It's ok, Rach. You know I'll always be your biggest fan."

_Sometimes your only fan…_

Rachel tilted her head to the side as she held up her glass and sipped from it. "Here's a toast…to…well, I suppose the future. I'm pretty sure neither of us would've seen ourselves here at this present moment—well, I knew I would somehow get to Broadway but—here's to now."

They clinked glasses.

It was an interesting way of meeting back up again; somehow Will had gotten a hold of her through someone else, and they both thought it was a fantastic idea to get back together and have a chat to catch up. Rachel had matured since her high school self; though still arrogant and confident in her know-it-all way, Will found that she was no longer the schoolgirl that had a crush on him anymore. In fact, he had almost forgotten they were practically fifteen years apart in age. She still was in perfect shape—thanks to the hard work of Broadway, but her face was not as young anymore. There were creases in her forehead where she probably had frowned many a times going over scripts and songs. He could see small evidence of crows' feet. Probably from all the smiling while singing.

They had moved from the table to the couch nearby that was just in front of her small television set. Still finishing up the wine bottle, she crossed her legs, letting her skirt ride up a bit and showing off her olive skin.

Will's eyes directly went towards the newly revealed skin; while the teacher Will from years ago would have dismissed it as illegal, the new Will felt a little excited.

_It's probably the alcohol…_

As they continued to talk, he watched her throw her head back in laughter. Happy. Beautiful. Like he always knew she was going to turn out to be. There was something so contagious about her smile and laughter. It was a like a happy little world she lived in that you wanted to take a part of. How was he going to be a part of her life again? He was only her teacher from many years ago.

"I'm pretty sure you still have the moves, Mr. Schue."

Will didn't tell her to call him by his first name anymore; in a way, it really _was_ old habits die hard.

"Ah, I don't know. I'm nearing forty, Rach." He looked down at himself. He was lying, a little—he did cycle to work almost everyday, and him working as the head of the drama department did not stop him from dancing or teaching it.

"Come on. I want to see my old teacher dance." Rachel kidded as she finished up her wine. Will suddenly wondered how much alcohol she could take without getting drunk.

Rachel sashayed over to her sound system and found a good song with a pulsing bass in the background. She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and looked at him with her dark brown eyes.

"C'mon. What are you waiting for?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Yay! I'm so happy for the reviews! I see people adding my story on alerts, which is also really nice for me to know, but another few comments wouldn't hurt, if you know what I mean. ; ) (And if you must know, comments are a fanfic author's food for better chapters).

Again, disclaimer on Glee as well as Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison. If I owned Matthew Morrison…well. Things would be different.

Also, I re-read the first chapter and I recognized a lot of itty bitty mistakes. I don't have a beta but I will try to clean things up a bit more in the future.

**Kiss And Control.**

"Rachel…I really don't think…I've danced that hard…in my entire life."

"You're just getting out of shape." She laughed and patted his back a little drunkenly. He smiled at her lopsidedly, which made her heart quicken in pace. _No, no, no, no…we've been down this path already, Rachel. Remember what happened last time? Very bad outcome._

The truth was, despite the fact that Rachel was a tough cookie, she only needed rejection once to figure things out. Deep down, she was a vulnerable girl. She also tended to wear her heart on her sleeve. It didn't get her a long way, though admittedly, there weren't many men to date when you were busy rehearsing twenty four hours a day, seven times a week. There also weren't many men to date when said men she knew were anything _but_ straight.

" 'U Can't Touch This' was a pretty crazy song choice. Didn't know you liked MC Hammer." Will commented lightly before taking a seat on her couch. Rachel held back a smile before saying, "Yeah…my parents liked him. Surprisingly." Will nodded in silence as he took another sip from his glass. _How much have I had now?_

"You should sing me something, Rach. You know. Give me a private performance." Will wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Rachel was too tipsy to actually really realize how sexual that sounded from her ex-teacher, but Will caught himself. He looked down in embarrassment as Rachel rifled through a few music books sitting on the small side table.

"What would you like to hear? Classics, modern musicals…pop songs from the eighties? Nah, that was always Finn's thing…" Rachel murmured to herself, giggling at the memories. Good memories. She hadn't seen Finn in the longest of times, but it probably had to do with the fact that he was still back in Ohio with Quinn. Quinn refused to get "back" together with Puck, and in all honesty, Finn was glad he was needed more than his jerk best friend.

"I don't know. Give me your favorite. I'm assuming your favorite has changed since 'On My Own' from Les Miserables?" Will asked, folding his arms across his chest. Rachel noticed how nice he still looked. _I wonder if he smells nice, too_…Oh boy.

"Hmm. Ok. Give me one second!" She put on a huge grin and dashed off towards her bedroom. She needed a couple props.

It didn't take long for her to re-appear with a feather boa and a brush as a fake microphone. Will's eyebrows shot up in an unexpected manner. Rachel brought out a pink boombox and hit the "PLAY" button. She cleared her throat, and turned around. When the piano began to trill, she turned around and sang, "_What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play…_"

Will sat back and gave her a huge grin. Of course—Liza Minelli's _Cabaret_ from _Cabaret_.

"…_Come taste the wine…_" She took the wine bottle on the table and poured Will more wine. He chuckled and tried to wave to her "No, no more" but she continued on, "_Come hear the band…"_

She truly was entertaining. There was no doubt she ended up on Broadway due to her brilliant talent. She knew how to please a crowd, no matter what mood they were in.

There was a certain sex appeal to her thick dark eyelashes and the raspy-ness she added to her voice. Will didn't want to think of her like that; she was purely an ex-student of his, and he had no business becoming a part of her romantic life. But when she sat down next to him singing, "_I used to have this girlfriend known as Elsie_."She crossed her legs and looked at him. "_With whom I shared four sordid rooms in Chelsea."_

Her lips were far too tantalizing. He couldn't possibly stand it. A small whiff of her scented perfume drove him past the point of insanity and he leaned in just a little more to…

And she skipped away. Oh god. _Will, get a hold of yourself! What in heaven's name are you doing? Ex-student, crazy Rachel Berry! And she's intoxicated. A little._

He pursed his lips and sat back, pretending to pay attention to the mini show she was giving him. When she ended with a big bang ("_So come to the Cabaret!"_), the sound cut off and her chest was heaving from the immense amount of energy she put into the number.

"Rach, that was fantastic. I think I'm going to have to pay you—"

"No, that's all on me. When you next see me on stage though you're going to have to pay." She winked at him before putting her boombox away. Will took a peek at his watch. It read 11:13pm.

"So…" Rachel said as she came down the small hallway. Will picked up his jacket and walked towards the hallway as well, saying, "It was so nice you had me over, Rachel. Really."

Rachel liked it when Will smiled, not only with his perfectly sculpted lips, but with his eyes that seemed to change color in the light. She was never really fond of her own brown eyes, so she envied his. When she stopped admiring the way he looked, she realized he was saying goodbye.

As she opened the maple wood door, a draft swept in and she shivered. "I hate it when the landlord leaves the gate at the bottom open…" She murmured. Will put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with her brown eyes. Warm, chocolate eyes looked deep into the depths of seagreen ones.

"Bye, Rachel." Will smiled softly.

He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.

What happened next, he didn't predict—or see coming. But Rachel turned her face very slightly to the right, and the next thing he knew, his lips were on hers.

And it felt so right. Something hit home.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I am so sorry that this chapter has been unusually late in updating. I learned this thing about "rewriting" while in college...this thing called revision and editing. So I had this perfectly good idea for how this story was going to go, but then I got stuck. And for days I rewrote this chapter a gazillion times (this is probably the shortest version), but what got me through it was re-watching the episode "Ballad" on Glee. After I saw how Will interacted with Rachel I got a much better look at how their relationship could play out. So yay! :) Again with the no credits to me, all credits to AFI, The Beatles (they inspired the titles for the past couple chapters), and of course the tv show Glee.

Also, to my reviewers and those who are following this story: I love you so, so much. If you guys didn't review as much as you did, I probably wouldn't have had this looming over my head the entire time. Out of the all the fanfics I've been writing since the age of 12, I've never felt so much pressure to make this RIGHT. So please review again and tell me how I did! xxxx!

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**Something.**

Rachel tossed and turned in her bed. What _was_ that, exactly? What do you call it?

_This is so embarrassing. My ex-teacher kissed me. On the __**lips**__._

Thank god they pretended it was a mistake, laughed it off, and just…let it pass. He said goodbye, and left. Rachel knew she turned her head very slightly on purpose. But she didn't think it was going to be like _that_. She didn't think it would bring back every memory that had him in it. Sure, there were good memories, but the worst ones came back with the hardest impact.

"…_The way you've been acting is totally inappropriate. I'm your teacher Rachel, and I'm sorry, but that's all I'm ever gonna be."_

The words replayed in her mind like a mini-movie, and she couldn't stand it.

When her and Mr. Schuester were to do a ballad together, they sang Endless Love. Which led to her being absolutely smitten. And her ultimately being heartbroken. She remembered his words very well.

"_I know it's not always easy for you, Rachel. I know there are some things about you that you'd like to change. But you should that there is some boy out there that's gonna like you for everything you are. Including those parts of you that even __**you**__ don't like. Those are gonna be the things he likes the most."_

She wasn't going to contact him. That was it. No more contact. That was key—key to her career, key to…preventing further embarrassment. Rachel would keep her heart guarded more carefully now, more than ever.

At a different household in upstate New York, a certain man was tied up in his sheets. Sweating profusely, he began to dream...

_A girl, stepping into the shower. She let her hair get wet, and tilted her head back to feel the warm droplets of water on her face. Everything about her was beautiful; her olive skin, to her subtle curves, and her supple breasts. Her dark brown mane became a beautiful waterfall down her back. She was just beautiful, simplicity at its finest. He stepped into the shower as well. When she sensed another presence in the shower, she turned to him. He began to wash her slowly and carefully—he took a nearby sponge off the rack and began to clean her shoulders and upper arms. Her eyelids fluttered close, and he could tell she felt so relaxed and peaceful._

_He let her turn to him and place her head on his chest. With his other hand, he stroked her hair lovingly. He looked down on her like she was the only one who had a place in his heart. And as her bright eyes looked up at him, he could tell he had the same special place in her heart. He bent down ever so slightly to touch his lips to hers. It was a unique kiss. It was like kissing for the very. First. Time. _

Will Schuester woke up with a start. He was sweating in his sheets. He let his lungs fill with air before falling back into his pillows. As he looked out the window and tucked his hands behind his head, he wondered what had gotten into him. He had such a realistic dream, he couldn't put his finger on it.

_What exactly happened last night..?_

Well, there was that unplanned kiss. And then the awkward sorry. And then goodbye, until next time. But was there going to be a next time at this rate? It was neither of their faults. At least, Will didn't think so. As far as he was concerned, Rachel didn't seem over the moon happy he kissed her. Sure, there was that one time a very long time ago where she had a schoolgirl crush on him and he rejected her.

He thought that one rejection was enough for Rachel Berry. They became very close working together in Glee and he was always there for her childlike tantrums in high school. He never saw her as anything but his student. Possibly an adopted high school girl he took under his wing.

Will Schuester sighed. He ripped the sheets off his well-toned body. Someone was going to need to wash his sheets that day. With a small frown, he went to get into his shower. He could do with some re-thinking and lots of hot water. But all he could think about in the shower was his dream. It wasn't even that highly sexual, though Rachel had certainly blossomed in a more mature way.

_I can't think of her like that, she's an ex-student!_

_Exactly. An __**ex**__-student._

He frowned. This probably wasn't a good idea. Probably.

Will promptly jumped out of the shower and changed. He made sure he smelled good (like soap), combed his hair back so it would sit in its regular kempt state, and grabbed his car keys. He had something to prove. As he ran past his neighbor, he gave Bert a little nod. "Where's the fire, William?" Bert called as Will chuckled and unlocked his 2011 BMW. As soon as Will passed the first stop light and hit the highway, he sped ahead, hoping he wouldn't get caught by the police for going at 80mph.

Rachel was in the shower, promptly working up a storm with her vocal trills. One octave, two octaves, three octaves, then up to the fourth. Her vocal chords were stretched every morning after her workout that began at 7:50AM.

After she wrapped her body into an off-white towel with pink trimmings, she walked out of the bathroom to look for clean clothes to wear.

Before she could pick out an outfit for the day, she heard a buzz at the door.

_I'm not expecting anyone…_

Rachel shouted, "Hold on!" before darting behind the bathroom door to grab her pink and yellow blossom kimono. After slipping on panties and a bra, then wrapping the kimono over it, she padded to the door curiously in her white slippers. Her hair was still dripping, but she had carelessly left the wet towel on her bed.

She reminded herself to peek through the peephole, to make sure there wasn't some freak rapist on the other side (though who would want to be there at 9:30 in the morning, Rachel asked herself).

Rachel couldn't exactly see who it was—he or she was standing too close to the door. She just saw a mess of brown…dishwater blonde hair?

The young woman unlocked the first bolt on the door, but left the chain that linked the door to the doorframe.

"Hello?" She asked. Good thing she brushed her teeth already.

"Er…Rachel? Is that you?" Will asked back. _Obviously! Who else lives here?_

"Mr. Schuester?"

"Will."

"Right. Hold on." She furiously fiddled with the chain so she could open the door up all the way. Will held his breath. God. His dreams were just as he suspected, and better. Way better in the flesh. And he didn't even stop himself from just staring at her for a moment.

"Uh…did you leave something behind yesterday, Will? I could've just brought it up to you…"

"No! I mean…that's not why I'm here."

"Oh. So why are you here?" Rachel asked inquisitively. She raised an eyebrow, now a little wary of how he was acting. He still didn't respond.

"Do you need to sit down? Are you okay?"

"Rachel…do you remember what I said all those years ago?"

Rachel rewound to yesteryear. So long ago, but so imminent in her mind. She quietly nodded a "yes".

He seemed like he wanted to say something, but words refused to form and come out of his mouth. Rachel couldn't help looked at his perfect lips. Too enticing.

They were both holding their breaths.

"…Fuck it." Will whispered, and took the back of her head and pulled her closer to him. Their lips touched, and Rachel's senses left her. The only burn she felt was in her chest and on her lips. He was very gentlemanly about it, and didn't let his hands roam elsewhere, but Rachel brought one hand onto his chest, and the other cupping his cheek.

When they had to let go for breath, Will staggered backwards.

"Um…I'm sorry." He said. His eyes read as very confused. He wasn't sure.

Rachel looked at him with the same emotions.

"Don't…apologize. I didn't know that was what you wanted…" She tilted her head to the side.

"I don't know what I want." He confessed.

There was a pause. Again. What was with these pauses?

Rachel reached out and held his hand. She gazed at it for a perfectly good minute. He didn't know what else to do but stare at her eyes as she inspected his hand. She began to softly massage his fingers with her other hand as she said, "Well, why don't we do this the common way? We could go to the movies. Or see a Broadway show." She said, her voice dripping with the irony of Broadway and her in the same sentence.

"Um…ok."

He really didn't know how to respond. At all.

"Is there a particular time that works for you?" Rachel asked slowly. He tried to snap back into focus. "This Wednesday for lunch?" He asked hesitantly. What was he doing?

"Done." She smiled. "I kind of need to get dressed. But um…I'll see you Wednesday at noon then." She patted his hand and proceeded to close the door. But Will went ahead and forced it open again.

"Look…um, I just know that it feels…it feels right. When I'm with you, for some reason. I know what I said in the past, but you understand that you're no longer my student, and you're now a grown woman…and…"

"Will," Rachel giggled, "It's ok. I know what you mean. No need for a lecture." She smiled at him, and then closed the door.

Will's heart sang as he walked in a daze back to his car.

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A/N: Review my lovelies! :]


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